We decided to stay a few days longer in Undella before we moved on, during which I tried to get in some more training with Rosa. She beat me more than once, and though that technically broke the little "no losing" rule I created for myself, I was glad to see how confident she had become in her battling abilities.

But with each loss, I became increasingly more worried when it came to my own skills. My fight with Drayden was approaching fast, and I still had no idea how I would manage to win it without a full-on attack strategy that, by all means, could backfire easily.

And it wasn't like August was going to help me. She was more defiant than ever and never even glanced my way whenever I sent her out. She seemed content to soak up damage and take a nap while doing so or she would pretend to be confused to avoid listening to me. Even with her continuing to fight against me, I refused to give up on her. I wanted to be a Trainer worthy of owning the true August, a Pokémon that had once been a loyal partner to the Hero of Ideals.

The only thing that stood in our way between Undella and Lacunosa was Route 13, a route composed of nothing but treacherous cliffs and deep stretches of icy water. We decided that Surfing across the water would be our best bet for traversing the route. It was either that or risk walking the narrow cliff side trails and flimsy-looking bridges that spanned the wide channels. It took us nearly three days to travel Route 13, and after dodging the threat of hypothermia like a Sheer Cold attack, we finally arrived at our destination: Lacunosa Town.

Lacunosa Town was built like a fortress, literally. Tall stone walls enclosed the small town, leaving only two openings for people to pass through. The three-story walls sheltered the buildings from the surrounding forest and foothills on the Route 12 side. While I was sure these wall were meant to instill a sense of safety, they only served to make me feel uneasy. What would the town want to keep in... or out?

Other than the walls, Lacunosa was like any other town. While the townsfolk were soft-spoken, they were pretty nice. Bianca said that we were supposed to meet someone here, someone that we were should have met before we ever started our journeys. We waited at a spot on the north side of Lacunosa near one of the walls. Eventually, we saw a woman wearing a white lab coat and a fashionable green dress while her brown hair was styled in a loose bun. She was walking towards us, her gaze fixed on us and a welcoming smile on her face.

"Professor Juniper!" Bianca greeted the woman warmly. I was shocked, this was the professor? She looked like any normal middle-aged woman, the only thing distinguishing her was the lab coat she wore.

"Hello, Bianca. It's great to see you again!" Juniper replied in a smooth, sophisticated tone. She looked at me, Rosa and Hugh. "And you three must be Nathan, Rosalyn, and Hugh. I've heard so much about you from your parents and Bianca. I'm so glad that we could finally meet." She held out her hand. Hugh and I shook her hand, expressing our gratitude for her giving us our first Pokemon.

"It's no problem! After all, it's a professor's job to give new Trainers their starters. Though I guess you're no longer 'new' Trainers. You two can make it to the League, I know you can." Juniper turned her attention to Rosa.

"I can't believe I'm meeting you, professor! I know you must hear this all the time, but I'm your biggest fan!" Rosa squealed as she shook Juniper's hand. I had never seen my sister smile so much, and it looked like she would explode from a combination of excitement and happiness.

"You've done an amazing job with the Pokédex so far, Rosalyn. Bianca's told what you want to achieve, and it's great that you already know what you want to do in life. Keep up the good work, and there's a possibility that I'll have a new assistant in the next few years." Juniper winked, and Rosa's eyes widened.

"Really?!" she gasped, taking a moment to revel in Juniper's praise. She then smiled confidently and nodded. "I won't let you down, professor. I'll complete the Unova Pokédex!"

Juniper smiled and slowly turned around, looking Hilbert square in the eyes. He hadn't used his disguise today after Bianca convinced him not to, and he didn't bother hiding who he really was. "Hello, professor," he said nervously.

"Hilbert Idelle..." Juniper began, drawing out his name slowly and purposefully. "Oh how long the days without you being in Unova have been. Let me guess, you've been in Johto? Perhaps Sinnoh? Professor Rowan did tell me there were unnaturally powerful lightning strikes reported near Sunnyshore City. And I've never seen any Luxray that could emit that much pure electricity. Your Zekrom needed some time out of his ball, didn't he?"

"Y-yes professor," Hilbert said, adverting his gaze.

Her expression became somber. "Your mother's been worried about you, you know? Same with Cheren. They both miss you. You really should call them every so often. Did you never get a new Xtransceiver? Pokémon Centers have Communicators for a reason," Juniper said somewhat sadly.

"I left the region for a reason, and I never intended for my return to Unova to go on for as long as it has. Iris' plan didn't really work out as she thought."

"So I've heard from her. It's quite tragic that things have regressed back to what they were like two years ago. It truly breaks my heart."

"Except that this time, the Heroes of Truth and Ideals won't be uniting to stop the threat," Hilbert said grimly.

"Oh, come on! Stop with all the talk of gloom and doom!" Bianca interrupted, crossing her arms. "You're here for a reason, professor, and so are we. We're here to learn about Kyurem!"

"Is that what this is about?" I asked hesitantly, afraid that I was intruding on something I shouldn't have been.

Juniper nodded. "Yes. There is an old woman who lives here that knows the old myth surrounding Lacunosa and the peculiar chasm that lies beyond the north wall. From what little knowledge I have of the myth, certain details hint at Kyurem's involvement. I was already meeting with the woman today, but once Bianca told me that you five were going to be here as well, I thought we could all hear her story," she said, pointing to a small house built right into a corner where two of the walls met.

"Okay, let's go! There's nothing like a good old-fashioned town myth to liven the mood," Bianca said, trying to smile. She grabbed Hilbert by the hand and began leading him towards the house Juniper pointed out.

"Bianca doesn't like conflict, does she?" Rosa asked.

"You could say that. She's really a good assistant, if not a little overly nice at times," Juniper sighed. "Shall we follow them?" We followed Juniper and went to the small house.

Juniper rang the doorbell ,and an old woman that had to have been at least seventy answered the door. She had the "grandmother" look going for her, slippers, floral dress, the works. Juniper explained to her why we were here, and the woman happily let us in, saying that she never got too many visitors.

We entered the house, and the woman told us to have a seat on one of the overstuffed couches in her living room. Once everyone was situated, she began telling us her story.

"Behind Lacunosa Town, there is a very large hole known as the Giant Chasm," she began in a raspy, shaking voice. "The chasm was created when a meteorite fell from the sky and collided with the earth. A terrifying Pokémon was hiding inside of the meteor. It appeared when darkness fell over the land, bringing with it unnaturally cold temperatures, frigid winds, and ice that would linger for far too long. The Pokémon stole people from Lacunosa Town and took them back to its dwelling in the chasm where it devoured them."

My heart dropped. It ate people?! I thought, instantly freaked out. Forget Design blowing people up, getting eaten— alive no doubt —was on a whole new level of horrifying.

"The town founders built the walls around the town in hopes of keeping the Pokémon out, and they also created a rule that nobody could go outside after nightfall. They agreed that nobody, human nor Pokémon, should be taken by that monster. And that is the end of the story," the woman said, bowing her head slightly. "Since then, this rule hasn't changed. The few stubborn people and Trainers who didn't listen were gone by the next morning. Whether they left town or were taken by that thing is unknown."

"Thank you very much for sharing that story with us. I'll have to add it to my research," Juniper said, standing up. "And thank you for your time." We left the house, an air of unease hanging over us.

"That certainly was interesting, wasn't it?" the professor said once we were back outside.

"If incredibly unsettling and borderline horrifying is your definition of interesting..." I heard Hugh mutter. I elbowed him and cast him a quick glare.

"Yeah, it was," Bianca answered. "The parallels between this town 'monster' and Kyurem are uncanny. The freezing winds and ice line up perfectly with our information on Kyurem. The only thing I'm confused about is what the woman said concerning that meteorite. Kyurem was created from the husk left behind by Zekrom and Reshiram. How could it have lived inside a meteor?" she asked.

"Well, I'm sure Hilbert could help me answer that question," Juniper said.

Hilbert looked confused. "How so, professor?"

"When you first found Zekrom, what did he look like?" Juniper asked.

"He was in the form of the Dark Stone," Hilbert answered.

"And how did the Hero of Truth first find Reshiram?"

"She was in form of the Light Stone." His eyes widened as a sudden realization dawned upon him. "Are you suggesting that Kyurem was in its own stone form?"

Juniper smiled. "Exactly! What if there was a third stone, a Gray Stone of sorts, that Kyurem could become. It may have been resting in the spot where the Giant Chasm was created, and the meteorite's collision released it from its stone form somehow. Being a being of emptiness, perhaps the pure power and energy created by the collision forced Kyurem to form. And now that it's formed, it's unable to be deformed unless it's hit with another blast of energy."

"Very good, Professor Juniper. You are truly worthy of your position as a professor of Pokémon."

All six of us whirled around to see a familiar man in purple robes followed by two people in black, two large white bear Pokémon known as Beartic flanking them. My heart skipped a beat when I saw who these people were.

"You're..!" Bianca gasped fearfully.

"Zinzolin! What do you want?!" Hilbert snapped, stepping in front of Bianca.

"There is no need to be so hostile. Besides, a heartless freak like you shouldn't be capable of such emotions in the first place," Zinzolin said, smiling eerily.

"Don't call me that!" Hilbert growled, trying to appear as intimidating as he could. He removed two Poké Balls from his bag and gripped them tightly in both hands, as if their presence was a threat. And in Hilbert's case, they were. We all knew that Neo Plasma would have no qualms about attacking people in public.

Zinzolin held his hands up in a gesture that told Hilbert to back off. "We are not looking for a fight, we are only here to pass along an offer from Lord Ghetsis," he said calmly. His gaze slowly traveled over us and it made a chill run down my spine. I felt Rosa grasp my hand comfortingly, and I managed to keep a stern expression despite the fear gripping my heart. I grabbed Saber's ball off my belt and kept it hidden in my coat pocket, just in case things went south.

"Says the guy with two Pokémon by his side! Just spit it out, old man!" Hugh snapped, his tone matching Hilbert's. I didn't bother with stopping him. There was no need to.

"Aren't you scary? You children are absolutely terrifying," one of the Neo Plasma grunts said mockingly. It was obvious that he was trying to antagonize us. I grabbed Hugh's arm before he could act. There was a difference between threating and flat-out attacking, and the last thing we needed at that moment was a fight.

"Give us your message and leave," Juniper said icily, her expression stone-cold.

"We have Kyurem," Zinzolin said. He turned to Hilbert. "And you have the next piece of the puzzle. We have need of Zekrom. Our offer is this: give us Zekrom without a fight, and nobody gets hurt. If not, we'll take it from you by any means necessary."

"Well, you already know what my answer is," Hilbert said.

Zinzolin's eyes narrowed and he scowled. "I had hoped your answer would be different... Why did I expect anything else from you?"

"You have my answer. Leave," Hilbert said.

"You should reconsider, it'll make things easier for all of us," Zinzolin said. He seemed reluctant to accept Hilbert's response.

"Leave. Now!" Hilbert let out a Krookodile and a Serperior. The intimidating Pokémon instantly tensed and stared at Zinzolin, both hissing softly. His Serperior glanced at him and hummed something mostly incomprehensible, not taking its eyes off the Neo Plasma sage. Two long, thorn-studded vines slithered out from under Seperior's leaf collar and it aimed them at the Beartic. Krookodile's eyes began glowing red, and it raised its head up so the enemy could see, casting the enemy a petrifying Scary Face. "No, don't hurt them... not yet," Hilbert said quietly.

"Don't bother with those slaves of yours, their 'services' aren't needed." Zinzolin glared at Hilbert's Serperior. Serperior glared back at Zinzolin, and without taking its gaze off of him, it flicked one of its vines at the closest Beartic, smacking it across its chest. Krookodile followed suit and aimed a powerful Dragon Tail at the second Beartic. The Ice-types were sent flying into the nearest wall and both were knocked out the moment they impacted the concrete. While the grunts seemed to be on the verge of freaking out, Zinzolin didn't even so much as flinch when Serperior aimed its other vine directly at his face.

"If you really are sure, I won't try to convince you otherwise." Without another word, he recalled the fallen Beartic, turned, and began to walk away. The two grunts stared in shock at Serperior a moment longer before they followed their leader. I let out the breath I had been holding when I could no longer see them.

"After all they've done to hurt us, they have the nerve to ask that?!" Hilbert cried angrily. His Serperior and Krookodile growled loudly, as if agreeing with their Trainer. "What kind of insane world do they think they're living in? I'd rather die than give up any of my partners, much less Design!"

"Calm down, Hilbert. They're gone, and no one was hurt. That's all that matters," Juniper said.

"She's right. Things could have gone much, much worse," Bianca added, stepping out from behind Hilbert.

"No, what matters is that they have Kyurem. They can continue their plan!" Rosa interjected, looking fearful. I didn't want to admit it but I was afraid too. The amount of power that Kyurem seemed to hold was no laughing matter. But something didn't seem right.

"Why does Neo Plasma want Design? Isn't having one Legendary Dragon enough?" I wondered aloud, trying to piece together the loose ends of information in my mind. Why would they want Design?

Hilbert closed his eyes and frowned, seeming to consider my question. After a moment of silence he nodded, as if he was agreeing to an internal conversation. He opened his eyes, which bore a look of grim realization. I had never seen him look so somber before. "The Splicers..." he said faintly.

"Splicers?" Rosa echoed, sounding as confused as I was.

"Drayden watches over a set of ancient devices known as the DNA Splicers. They're supposed to have something to do with the Legendary Dragons. Iris did say that Neo Plasma was sighted searching warehouses in Opelucid. I'm sure they're after the Splicers."

"That's comforting to know," I sighed. Great, Neo Plasma has control of a Legendary Pokemon and they want something that could potentially make it more powerful. And right when everything seemed to be going smoothly...